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The development of a West Coast earthquake-warning system similar to Mexico City's has been delayed because of a lack of funding, said Doug Given of the U.S. Geological Survey. "In the current government financial situation, it's unlikely that it will be funded to the adequate level soon. We're still searching for avenues to make it happen," Given said.

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Geologists found that smartphones using applications based on Global Positioning Systems could predict earthquakes nearly as well as more sophisticated and expensive methods could, a report in the journal Science Advances states. The apps could provide warnings seconds before medium to large quakes hit, the scientists reported.

The House Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that would include $5 million in initial funding for an earthquake-warning system on the West Coast. The system, with sensors that would detect waves from the earthquake's epicenter, is estimated to cost $38.3 million.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook Japan early Saturday off the coast near Fukushima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A tsunami warning was issued by Japan's Meteorological Agency, which put the quake's magnitude at 7.1.

The California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee has cleared a bill that would allow the California Institute of Technology and the University of California to work with state and federal agencies to establish a system to provide early earthquake warnings. "We all know a big quake will hit again in the future. We should be smart and use our science and technology to detect seismic activity and alert people in advance of destructive shaking," state Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement.

The government should build on the West Coast an earthquake early-warning system such as the one in Japan that helped save many lives when a powerful tremor devastated the Asian country last month, according to researchers. A major earthquake could hit the region soon and cause massive losses, they said. "It's our hope that it won't take a killer earthquake in the U.S. to realize this system," said Doug Given of the U.S. Geological Survey.